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Introducing GitHub for Windows

The code-sharing site GitHub has been on our mind lately at ProfHacker. After Brian inspired a productive conversation with his idea of forking one’s syllabus, Lincoln demonstrated how it might be done on GitHub.

Lincoln mentioned using GitHub for Mac (which he had previously written about on ProfHacker) as a way to work offline and sync changes to your code repositories without having to use command line prompts. But what about Windows users? Up until a few days ago, people who developed software (or other GitHub-ready documents) on Windows had to rely on the command line or third-party tools that involved complicated configurations (like setting up private and public SSH keys on your computer).

This all changed on May 21st, when GitHub released GitHub for Windows, a visual interface for GitHub that allows you to sync, clone, and branch your repositories with a few clicks. GitHub for Windows is free and requires no messy set-up. Furthermore, it’s a clean and functional interface, built following Microsoft’s Metro style guide. (Yes—as surprising as it may be, Microsoft has become an aesthetic leader with its new emphasis on clarity of content over chrome and clutter.)

Have any ProfHacker readers tried GitHub for Windows? Does a Windows client make you more likely to use GitHub as a way to share and collaborate? If not, what’s holding you back?

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Amy Cavender is a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and Associate Professor of Political Science and interim Director of the Center for Academic Innovation at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana.